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Introduction
Hebrews 12:25-29 - See that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused Him who spoke on earth, much less shall we escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven. 26 At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has given us a promise, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.” 27 And this statement, “Yet once more,” signifies the removal of those things that can be shaken, things that are created, so that only those things that cannot be shaken will remain. 8 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved, let us be gracious, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Haggai 2:6-7 - For thus says the Lord of Hosts: Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and earth, the sea and dry land. 7 And I will shake all the nations, and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of Hosts.
This message is coming out of what the Lord has been speaking to me this week.
-there are things that are coming
We are seeing a shifting upon the earth that is going to shake the foundations of everything we trust in. As the people of God, as His church, as His bride – we need to be aware and be prepared.
God has said in His Word that He is going to shake. Haggai specifically (and it is confirmed again in Hebrews) is speaking of a shaking that will come in the final days.
5 Things Shaken - Heaven, Earth, Sea, Dry land, All nations
(In Other Words – All Things Will Be Shaken) – we need to understand that while Jesus says we are not of this world, we are currently living in this world and we will see the storms of life and this world.
Psalm 91:5-7 - You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; nor of the pestilence that pursues in darkness, nor of the destruction that strikes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
We will see and even experience what can be described as terrors, arrows, destructions, and many different things.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 - Know this (fact, that is not going to change) : In the last days perilous (dangerous, terrifying, extreme) times will come. 2 Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 without natural affection, trucebreakers, slanderers, unrestrained, fierce, despisers (hate) of those who are good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Turn away from such people.
You don’t have to look very far to find these things. The intensity of these things will only increase. Reason - God is being pushed out of this world, culture, every aspect of society.
Even though many would have a form of religion they completely deny God.
Romans 1:21 - Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him or give thanks to Him as God, but became futile in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
The foolishness that we see happening today is because although many people would say they believe in God, many would say they even believe in the Bible, or many would even call themselves Christians/religious they do not glorify or thank God - they are do recognized who God is, they have not surrendered to Him as God and they don’t accept Him as God.
Warning for us. You can be here today in church. You can go to church all our life. You can say you believe in Jesus. You could’ve raised your Bible and made the confession today but unless you are recognizing, surrendering and accepting Him as God, this coming to church and doing all these things is simply a form of godliness without any power.
The result - thinking they are WISE – but in actual fact they are fools.
There is coming a shaking. It is going to test the foundation of our lives. Hebrews said - only those things that cannot be shaken will remain.
My thought in all this… Am I ready for it? Are you ready for it? Are you ready for your foundations to be tested? Are you ready for what may come? Shaking – even persecution.
Jesus said - If the world hates you, you know it is because it hated me before you… ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.
Good News
Note: I am also not here promoting a message that suggests this is where we are going so let us just throw up our hands, give up and not do anything.
Jesus says - Occupy till I come
God is not finished in this world. God is not finished with you. You and I are called to be salt and light. We are called to be examples, witnesses, vessels that are filled with God so that God can express Himself.
While this looks to be a perilous time, understand that this is also a time for the light to shine in the darkness. We have the answer. We have hope and His name is Jesus.
The Foundation Not Shaken.
Hebrews 12 - We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved. At the center of the Kingdom is Christ.
Luke 6:46-49 - “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show whom he is like: 48 He is like a man who built a house, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on rock. When the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, but could not shake it, for it was founded on rock. 49 But he who hears and does not obey is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently. Immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
These two men had a lot in common.
-Heard the word
-Both built a foundation, both built a house
-Both had troubles (no difference in the storm)
Yet one survived the storm and one was left in complete ruins. We will stand intact and whole/complete or we will have find ourselves in ruins depending on the foundation of our lives.
1st – WHOEVER COMES TO ME
Speaking of a sincere genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. (submitted, repentance and fully trusting Him)
There are only two foundations. ROCK OR SAND
You can’t have one half of the building of your life on the rock and the other half on the sand. Many are trying to do that. They want the blessings and goodness of God, they want eternal life, but they also want to keep the other half of their life for themselves. Won't work and will not last.
The place to start is with Christ. The Bible says – He is the Cornerstone and that there is no salvation found in anyone else.
That comes by setting aside (rejecting) everything else, setting aside trust in everything else, setting aside yourself and turning (repentance) and looking to Him in faith. It is not just believing in Jesus as some historical figure but a personal Saviour who comes in lives within you. Until you have Christ you have nothing.
But when you have Christ you have Gods all in all living inside of you. There is no greater foundation to face whatever may come. But it doesn’t stop there.
2nd – WHOEVER COMES TO ME AND HEARS MY WORDS AND DOES THEM
Come To Christ then First Action is to Hear God’s Word
Unless you hear God’s Word you cannot know God’s Word,
unless you know God’s word, you cannot act upon God’s word
and unless you act upon God’s Word
you cannot experience what God’s Word says.
-God’s Word is strength, it is vitality (the Words that I speak to you are life), it is a source of hope and faith. God’s Word is what the Spirit takes and draws upon and uses to encourage and build us up.
-God’s Word gives us the answers of how to face the battles, how to overcome, how to go through difficulty and hardship, how to face the storms, how to handle the shaking
Unless you hear God’s word than this is of no benefit to our lives.
Notice it says that this person dug deep. There must be more than a superficial reading. The more you get into the Word of God and hear what it says, the deeper the foundation goes, the more God reveals, and the more He exposes.
Sometimes there is some sand on the rock that will compromise the foundation unless it is dug out. God’s Word will expose those things so that change can come. As you hear God’s Word it will expose unbelief, sin, it will expose wrong thinking, it will expose areas that need to change.
But you have to hear His Word. It is not good enough to hear it on Sunday. It is not good enough to only read a verse here and there. There needs to be a developed discipline of reading and eating His Word.
Second Action is to Obey It. God can give us His Word and we can hear it (even like the foolish man – it says he heard but he didn't obey) and so we can hear it and not do it and the whole thing becomes an exercise in futility.
Many people hear God’s Word (even in church) but they don’t listen to God’s Word.
Example - When you have a child who does something wrong, often you will say – did you hear me, why didn’t you listen. There is a difference between hearing and listening. You can be sitting here and hearing me today and walk out and this message have no impact on your life, it will depend upon whether you simply heard or whether you listened.
We need to obey.
Obedience involves alignment. It involves aligning yourself with what God says. God is not moving and changing and His Word doesn’t change. His Word is not just an authority, but the final authority, it is not just a standard, it is THE STANDARD, it is not just some truths, IT IS THE TRUTH and we have to be aligned with His Word.
Obey involves submission. People don’t like this word today. If we align ourselves with God's Word we will submit or yield to it. Even if we don’t understand.
We need to realize, when you hear and obey God, He is accountable to His Word. He is responsible. If we don’t hear, or we hear but don’t obey, we take that responsibility upon ourselves, because we are not trusting in Him but we are trusting in something other than Him.
So we must hear and obey.
The PROMISE - When the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, but could not shake it, for it was founded on rock.
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